My day has just been made...

Because I found 0.5mm lead at work!  They always have 0.7mm lead which I personally hate because it is not as clean to write with and it smears all over my hand.  Everytime I need lead I look through all the kitchens (where our supplies are stored) in search of 0.5mm lead and I almost never find it.  But today, after searching through just TWO kitchens I found not one, but TWO packs.  I almost took both.  Except I know that one will get me at least through this exam sitting and I figured someone else who loves 0.5mm lead as much as I do should be blessed by finding the rare pack as well.

It really is the little things.

And exam season really does show the procrastinator in me.

Disclaimer: you are probably not going to like what I am about to write. Honestly, I don't even like what I'm about to write. It points the finger at me just as much as the next person. Of this I am fully aware. But sometimes the radical change and difference that is required in our lives is not comfortable or easy to attain. So if you are willing, walk with me through some thoughts as I explore the implications of the cost of grace.

Grace is free. This we would all agree. Grace, however, is not cheap.  What I mean by this is this: though grace has been given to we who believe freely as a gift, it came at great cost. It cost the life of our Savior, took thousands of years to be seen in its fullness, and is probably among the most valuable things that we possess (if you can even count grace as something to be possessed). Don't quite understand what I mean by this? Let's think in other terms for a moment. Think about freedom. The freedom enjoyed and experienced as Americans.  Freedom is free; I do not buy my freedom from the federal government (though some might argue that we do pay for freedom through our taxes), but it is bestowed upon me by my country. Few would say that our freedom comes without a high cost. It has, at many points in time and even still today, demanded the lives of many men and women here and around the world. Lives of those who fought for freedom, who fought against it, and those who have been caught in the crossfire. So while we will often say that freedom is freely given and received, few would dare say that our freedom is cheap. So it is with the grace we have been given by God. Grace is free and unmerited, but it is not cheap. So why do we make it that way? Why do we - by our words, our actions and our expectations towards others - cheapen such a great and precious gift?

I don't even know where to begin in saying what I want to say, so please bear with me as I unpack my thoughts. Let's start with the idea that the grace of God is a gift of God, given to us freely without us doing anything to acquire, attain, or deserve it. As we think about this gift of grace, think about other gifts we are given throughout our lives and the way we anticipate, respond to, and react when they are not given to us. When we are children we expect presents. We even ask others upon first seeing them if they have brought us presents. Our maturity and social mores have not yet developed to the point where we understand that it is not okay to expect or ask for things (or at least we learn to suppress the desire to ask or expect). By the time we reach adulthood we say nice things like "please no presents, just your presence is requested." Whether or not we mean it is an entirely different topic... My point is simply that as we mature we begin to understand that it is not okay to expect things from people. Why not?  It's rude. It's selfish. It shows a complete lack of respect and understanding of the situations of others. Be real, what do you actually think of people who demand things of you, even if they do so jokingly? A lot of times we are offended, annoyed, or just plain incredulous that someone would place an expectation upon us. At that point it doesn't even matter if we wanted to or not to begin with, the expectation itself that has been forced upon us that robs us of the joy of giving and that often prompts us to ask "who exactly do they think they are?"

So then, take all of those thoughts and let's go back to the original question. Why do we cheapen grace? Specifically, why do we cheapen grace by demanding it from others? I know why we ought to show grace but I don't understand how we came to believe that we deserve to receive it. We show grace because we are believers and as much has been given to us so also should we give much to others. We show grace because we too find ourselves in trying circumstances and situations and we understand that often the attitude we display towards others in their circumstances is often the one that we will receive in the midst of our own. We show grace because it is our calling, it is how we reflect Christ to others. With all of that in mind: understanding the cost of grace and the weight of grace, one would think we'd understand when grace (that which is above and beyond what we have earned or merited) is not or cannot be extended to us. Shouldn't we EXPECT that we are to put in our full effort, give what we can, and then receive what we deserve because we have earned it? Doesn't Jesus say that the laborer should be given his wages because he has earned them? What is up with our lazy attitude of "they'll cut me slack" EVEN if I didn't meet the expectations placed upon me, didn't work as hard as I know I should have, finish the project on time, etc. etc. No my friend, in these instances it is not a matter of whether or not grace should be given or received. It IS a matter of your attitude, your work ethic, and the work that ultimately you are presenting to the Lord. Do you really think that when you stand before God at the end of your life and try to explain why you never gave 100% wholeheartedly and unselfishly to the things you did, He is going to be like "oh, that's okay, you're under grace." I'm not trying to be sacrilegious. I just don't think we understand the magnitude of what it means to work heartily, as unto the Lord and not to men. Just because we don't do it FOR men does not mean that we do not do it before them.

Brothers and sisters, let us live in a manner that gives glory to God in ALL the things we do. Let us see grace for the blessing it is, never taking advantage of it and always willing to give it.

Saved by the Bell & Friends

I know that I tend to think random thoughts but this is a pretty obscure one, even for me.  I was laying in bed tonight actually composing another blog entry in my mind (I can't believe I am admitting this to the masses - I often write first in my mind before I commit it to paper or the world wide web.  Often I don't ever get around to writing things down because the thoughts get spoken and then expunged from the swirling pool of my mind) and this came to mind and I just HAD to write about it, lest I forget about it.  AND because I want to know if anyone else has ever thought about this...

So now that you know that I often write first in my mind or hold on to thoughts until I no longer want to write about them, you must think that this is a pretty important thought.  Boy are you going to be disappointed if that's what you're looking for (though the title itself should've told you it'd be nothing serious).

Has anyone ever thought about the similarities between Saved by the Bell and Friends?  I was thinking tonight about the idea of best friends (something I do want to write about in the near future) and I thought about how when I was younger I could spend hours on the phone with my friend talking about Saved by the Bell... how Zach and Kelly really did belong together and they were being so stupid, coming so close and yet always missing each other by that much... and it dawned on me.  Zach and Kelly really kind of remind me of Ross and Rachel.  As I pushed that thought a little further I realized that not only do Zach and Kelly remind me of Ross and Rachel, there are similarities in the relationships of Slater and Jessie/Chandler and Monica and Lisa and Screech/Phoebe and Joey.

Mind you, I am a fairly new Friends addict so I am not nearly the Friends experts as others could claim to be.  I only started watching about two months ago, and I have only seen Seasons 1-3 and 8-10 (but let's be real, those are the important parts - the beginning and the end... everything in the middle just leads up to the end, although there are hilarious setups and one liners to be found in every episode).  Without further ado, let's examine the similarities.

Let's start with some of the more surface similarities.  In each group there are three of each gender.  For SBTB the girls are composed of Kelly, Jessie, and Lisa; the boys are Zach, Slater, and Screech.  With Friends the girls are Rachel, Monica, and Phoebe and the guys are Ross, Chandler, and Joey.  In SBTB the scenes most often occur in one of three different locations: that one classroom that they seem to have all their classes in, the halls of their high school, and the burger place.  Occasionally they venture to other parts of the high school and/or other locations, but those are their three main hangouts.  The Friends have a similar routine.  They mostly gather in the living room/kitchen of Monica and Rachel's apartment, in Central Perk, or in Joey and Chandler's apartment.  There are other places where things take place, like Ross' apartments or their workplaces, but those three locations are central.  That's a start.  But let's keep digging.

The bigger similarity I see are the characters themselves, their relationships, and the entire group dynamic.  First, the individuals.  Zach is the cool kid whose whole life has been handed to him on a silver platter and who can get any girl he wants but not the one he loves; Slater's the emotionally distant army brat who comes in and makes friends but still keeps his distance with his harsh humor/sarcasm; and then we have Screech,the weird kid who is destined for singleness by his nerdiness and who is kind of out there (but is happy being out there) and is kindly mocked by them all.  On the Friends side we have Ross, who is the favored child of his parents and who is the only one who starts with the career of his dreams... and though he strangely enough attracts all types of women, can never get the one he truly loves; Chandler who is emotionally distant because of his upbringing and uses his humor as a deterrent to real intimacy; and Joey is the forever bachelor by choice who is loved and mocked by all the other friends, but seems to enjoy the happy, weird, little life he leads.  The SBTB girls: Kelly, who has it all - she's a cheerleader, popular, and is the constant object of Zach's affections; Jessie, the perfectionist who has to be the best at everything and is the best friend of Zach; and Lisa, who in many ways marches to the beat of her own drum, though her drum is one of fashion and flair.    vs. The ladies of Friends: Rachel is the girl who has it all and is ditzy and materialistic; Monica, the perfectionist for whom everything must be just right all the time, who also happens to be Ross' sister and best girl-friend; and Phoebe, the woman who does as she pleases, almost a female Joey, oblivious to reality but content to live in her own little world.  Granted, there are also obvious differences in the characters.  Ross is much nerdier than Zach is ever made out to be.  Phoebe is just plain out there where Lisa is very chic, though neither is ever mainstream.  Slater is big and built and comes off more arrogant than insecure where Chandler is scrawny and is obviously insecure.  Kelly and Rachel... well, they are more similar than dissimilar.

Then there are the relationships.  Zach and Kelly/Ross and Rachel.  The couple who you were rooting for to get together in the first place.  The ones who at one point were together, then find themselves apart and wanting each other for different reasons at different times and who can never seem to make it work, but you root for them nonetheless.  And eventually they do end up together and all seems right with the world.  Slater and Jessie/Chandler and Monica.  The couple you never see coming.  There always seems to be too much bitter history and too much personality conflict to make it really true.  But then it happens and it seems right and you wonder why you never saw it coming before.  Looking back you can see the foreshadowing and yet you still never would've guessed.  This is the couple you know you can love because you know that nothing really bad will ever happen to them because their storyline is not the main focus of the show anyway.  Screech and Lisa/Joey and Phoebe.  Both sets are free spirits.  Since everyone else has hooked up you almost want them to hook up too.  Almost, but not quite.  Because you see how well their dynamic works as friends and you know in your heart that it would ruin the chemistry of the couple and of the group if they actually became a couple.  There is chemistry and love and affection between these couples, but not THAT kind of love and affection.  They are the perfect friends.  And they perfectly complete the set of friends because they bring something completely different to the dynamic.

Both sets have this really awesome ensemble cast and a great chemistry between all the characters.  Random groups of people, but they all seem to work really well off one another.  Both have these funny little tangential story lines that not only set up the long-term plot but also work perfectly for humorous sub-plots and character development.  Both have characters who are niched perfectly.  And both are loved by me.  And overthought by me.  Being reminded of that, I bid you goodnight.